Big Basin Redwoods Park

Who knew there was such beauty a stone’s throw away from Sunnyvale in California? The Big Basin Redwoods Park is obviously no comparison to the Redwoods near Crescent City. They are on a totally different scale. The Big Basin, however, is a perfect weekend getaway with loads of redwood trees, cute little streams, creeks, waterfalls… You want nature, you got it here @ Big Basin.

From where I live, it is a nice one hour drive to the forest with plenty of vineyards along the way in a typical Redwoods setting – tall trees, curvy roads narrowing at the end of your journey and wineries overlooking the entire bay. For some, it may be a torturous drive owing to the million curves on the road to Big Basin. Best tip is to roll down the windows in your car to avoid being woozy. I know I did and felt immensely better. The pure natural air helps a lonnnng way! Trust me.

Once into the park, you have a basic visitor center and a parking entry with plenty of portable toilets.

KEY ADVICE (for those allergic or extremely repulsed by portable toilets): Try using the restroom at your hotel/home/motel before going to the forest or head into one of the wineries. That’s awesome coz you can taste and pick up some of their best wine.

The visitor center has a single forest ranger who will help you with key information on hiking trails, camping, facilities inside the forest, DO’s and DON’Ts for campers and most important of all, MAPS.

We took a 4 mile hike this weekend from skyline to the sea trail crossing over to the creeping forest trail and finally joining the dool trail leading back to the park headquarters.

It’s pretty basic from the skyline to the sea trail upto the creeping forest trail. The trail consists of cute little creeks and streams, a nice flowing river and tall redwoods. This leads you to a junction that starts the creeping forest trail.

The creeping forest trail certainly sticks to its name. It’s creepy but beautiful inside. While you feel entirely cut off from the world, this trail can be quite an up climb and a good workout. The vegetation is so thick, it is hard to miss breathing the insanely fresh forest air. The scent is outrageously musky, earthy and relaxing.

This trail then leads you to a sort of tree path which you will see in the photos that follow. The tree is carved into steps and footpaths. So very different and pleasing to the eye amidst the sudden rush of nature.

The dool trail starts with a road that looks quite lost and dreamy. Crossing this road will start the dool trail back to the headquarters which can be quite a slippery walk especially after a rain. And my sources say it does all the time during spring. So watch out!

On the whole, I absolutely enjoyed my time hiking at Big Basin and am definitely thinking of going back. Maybe for some camping the next time around.

Purifying my body and soul through Yoga

A few years ago, I used to practice Yoga everyday for 45 mins to an hour as a part of a program at my bschool.What started off as a class soon became a part of my routine which eventually got discontinued when I came back to Chennai and began to work. The hustle and bustle of the city life caught up and I dumped the art of practising Yoga for more unhealthier habits and lifestyle. Today after 3-4 years, I went online and looked up modern exercise videos such as the Pilates and Zumba when suddenly I came across Yoga videos which instantly clicked that part of me alive back again. I realised in a blink that it was that something that used to make me feel so good. Yoga gave me not only good skin, clear face and clean health. It instilled and boosted confidence levels, kept me active throughout the day and the best of all, made me feel light throughout ending the day with a sound sleep. What a lot of people don’t get is that Yoga is NOT about losing weight. It is about keeping yourself active, alert and attractive. Yes, ATTRACTIVE. Try Yoga for a week and you will see a huge difference in your face. Your face gains more clarity and you never look tired.

Anyway, after bumping into this Hatha Yoga Video, I realized that this is something I definitely want back on my routine. Back in the undergraduation days, I used to go on looooooong walks everyday. Walked nearly 10 kms every single day for about 2 years. I used to feel super light and was always healthy. Sometimes it may seem ridiculous to be exercising so much (strictly from the POV of non-exercisers), but trust me, exercising does keep you physically and mentally active. Kar is always harping on how even a 30-min walk which I used to do back then during our 6 month engagement period was not enough for someone my age. He was always telling me that it was never about losing weight and it is more to do with keeping myself physically fit. I never understood why he was so concerned but now when I think about it, I realise that back then all the walking and yoga was done with my friends. So I never felt the pain and ever under-motivated. I was always in the mood for exercise and now understand that self-motivation is the something I completely lack.

This video on Youtube lasts for 43 mins. Trust me, even though it’s not exactly the same yoga I used to do back then. It is still something good. After those 43 mins, I can tell you I definitely feel better, breathe better and feel light. Most importantly, can feel the blood flowing throughout my body like a boost in circulation. It feels great. I am definitely making this an essential part of my routine. Thanks Yogayak!

Here’s the link to Yogayak’s channel.